EU Funded Projects
Supporting EU-Funded Research Projects
EASL supports its members’ EU-funded research projects through comprehensive dissemination services, including promotion across our website, social media, newsletters, and EASL Congress platforms, as well as meeting space and media support for project activities. To discuss dissemination opportunities for your project, contact the EASL Office at least 4–6 weeks before your EC submission deadline.
Current projects
A-TANGO - Novel treatment of acute-on-chronic liver failure using synergistic action of G-CSF and TAK-242
Decompensated cirrhosis, often progressing to acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF), remains life-threatening with limited treatment options beyond transplantation. The A-TANGO consortium is conducting Phase 2 trials of G-TAK, a novel combination therapy using G-CSF and TAK-242 to improve liver cell growth and reduce inflammation while identifying biomarkers for better patient outcomes.
Objectives
- Obtain ethical and regulatory approval of the planned clinical studies
- Ensure safe and regulated supply of the required drugs and placebos
- European multicenter clinical study to establish the safety, pharmacokinetics, and efficacy of our novel therapeutic strategy
- Explore the pathophysiological mechanisms and evaluate biomarkers
- Evaluate our results with respect to clinical outcome, treatment impact, and quality of life
- Exploit our results by identifying economic benefits for the healthcare system, reimbursement strategies, and potential commercial interest
- Disseminate the therapeutic potential of our novel treatment strategy to stakeholders and increase awareness of end-stage liver disease
Project Coordinator
Members
The 13 institutions that collaborate in this multi-centre project are spread throughout Europe, and include world-class experts on liver cirrhosis, clinical trial management, drug manufacturing, molecular biology, data analysis, health economics, networking and dissemination.
European Foundation for the Study of Chronic Liver Failure (EF CLIF)
Barcelona, Spain
Assistance Publique Hôpitaux de Paris (APHP)
Paris, France
Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin
Berlin, Germany
Concentris Research Management gmbh
Fürstenfeldbruck, Germany
Crowdhelix Ltd.
Cork, Ireland
European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL)
Geneva, Switzerland
European Liver Patients Association (ELPA)
Brussels, Belgium
Hepyx Ltd.
Ledbury, United Kingdom
International Market Access Consulting GmbH (IMAC)
Zug, Switzerland
Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC)
Leiden, The Netherlands
University College London (UCL)
London, United Kingdom
Leipzig University Medical Center (ULEI)
Leipzig, Germany
Yaqrit Ltd.
Ledbury, United Kingdom
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 945096. This website reflects only the authors’ view and the European Commission is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains.
DECISION - DEcompensated CIrrhoSIs: identification of new cOmbiNatorial therapies based on systems approaches
Decompensated cirrhosis, often progressing to acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF), remains life-threatening with limited treatment options beyond transplantation. The A-TANGO consortium is conducting Phase 2 trials of G-TAK, a novel combination therapy using G-CSF and TAK-242 to improve liver cell growth and reduce inflammation while identifying biomarkers for better patient outcomes.
Objectives
- To analyse, elucidate, and dissect the pathophysiology of acute decompensation of cirrhosis and its transition to ACLF and death at a systemic level, combining genomics, epigenomics, microRNA, transcriptomics, metabolomics, and inflammatory mediators, as well as extracellular vesicles released by injured organs, with patients’ clinical features and response to treatments, as well as to explore the exact contribution of treatments to the outcome of decompensation of cirrhosis, and thereby to provide important foundations for the development of future combinatorial therapies of available treatments (WPs 1-3).
- To identify new combinatorial therapies, tailored to the needs of specific groups of patients with decompensation of cirrhosis, to prevent ACLF and death (WPs 3-5), refine these therapies in optimised rat models and then test the best combination in a phase II clinical trial built in the DECISION project. This approach focusing on drugs currently used in patients with decompensated cirrhosis minimizes the risk of safety issues. The cost-effectiveness of the new strategy will additionally be assessed with the ultimate aim of decreasing the social and healthcare burden of decompensation of cirrhosis (WP6).
- To refine existing and develop new animal (rat) models of decompensation of cirrhosis leading to ACLF and characterize these models using targeted transcriptomics and metabolomics approaches based on findings obtained in patients (WP1 and WP4).
- To develop novel tests able to predict the treatment outcome of patients with decompensated cirrhosis (prognostic test) and to identify the patient population responding to the developed combinatorial therapy (test for response) (WPs 3-5).
- To disseminate our findings, new combinatorial therapies and tests to the widest possible audience with the help of the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) and the European Liver Patients Association (ELPA) (WP6 and WP7).
Project Coordinator
Scientific Coordination
Members
The 21 institutions that collaborate in this multi-centre project are spread across Europe, and include physiology-, biotechnology-, and clinical experts as well as leading patient and liver research organisations.
European Foundation for the Study of Chronic Liver Failure (EF CLIF)
Barcelona, Spain
Assistance Publique Hôpitaux de Paris (APHP)
Clichy, France
Commissariat à l’Energie Atomique et Aux Énergies Alternatives (CEA)
Gif sur Yvette, France
Concentris Research Management gmbh
Fürstenfeldbruck, Germany
European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL)
Geneva, Switzerland
European Liver Patients Association (ELPA)
Brussels, Belgium
Erasmus Universitair Medish Centrum Rotterdam (EMC)
Rotterdam, the Netherlands
Fundació Clínic per la Recerca Biomèdica (FCRB)
Barcelona, Spain
Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main (GUF)
Frankfurt, Germany
Institut Catala de la Salut (ICS-HUVH)
Passeig Vall d’Hebron, Spain
Institut National de la Sante et de la Recherche Medicale (INSERM)
Paris, France
Navarrabiomed – Public Foundation Miguel Servet (NBM-FMS)
Pamplona, Spain
Servicio Madrileno de Salud (SERMAS)
Madrid, Spain
Nordic Bioscience
Herlev, Denmark
Universitat de Barcelona (UB)
Barcelona, Spain
University College London (UCL)
London, United Kingdom
Universitäts-Klinikum Aachen (UKA)
Aachen, Germany
Alma Mater Studiorum - Universita di Bologna (UNIBO)
Bologna, Germany
Universita Degli Studi di Padova (UNIPD)
Padova, Italy
Università degli Studi di Torino (UNITO)
Torino, Italy
YouHealth (YH YouHealth AB)
Stockholm, Sweden
Universitätsklinikum Münster (WWU)
Münster, Germany
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 945096. This website reflects only the authors’ view and the European Commission is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains.
GENIAL - Gene ENvironement Intercation in ALcohol-related hepatocellular carcinoma
The GENIAL consortium combines clinical hepatology and artificial intelligence expertise to identify environmental and genetic factors underlying alcohol-related hepatocellular carcinoma (ALD-HCC). These discoveries enable development of innovative diagnostic models and therapeutic targets for early-stage detection of high-risk patients, significantly improving curative treatment options, clinical outcomes, and long-term patient prognosis.
Objectives
- To analyse, elucidate, and dissect the pathophysiology of acute decompensation of cirrhosis and its transition to ACLF and death at a systemic level, combining genomics, epigenomics, microRNA, transcriptomics, metabolomics, and inflammatory mediators, as well as extracellular vesicles released by injured organs, with patients’ clinical features and response to treatments, as well as to explore the exact contribution of treatments to the outcome of decompensation of cirrhosis, and thereby to provide important foundations for the development of future combinatorial therapies of available treatments (WPs 1-3).
- To identify new combinatorial therapies, tailored to the needs of specific groups of patients with decompensation of cirrhosis, to prevent ACLF and death (WPs 3-5), refine these therapies in optimised rat models and then test the best combination in a phase II clinical trial built in the DECISION project. This approach focusing on drugs currently used in patients with decompensated cirrhosis minimizes the risk of safety issues. The cost-effectiveness of the new strategy will additionally be assessed with the ultimate aim of decreasing the social and healthcare burden of decompensation of cirrhosis (WP6).
- To refine existing and develop new animal (rat) models of decompensation of cirrhosis leading to ACLF and characterize these models using targeted transcriptomics and metabolomics approaches based on findings obtained in patients (WP1 and WP4).
- To develop novel tests able to predict the treatment outcome of patients with decompensated cirrhosis (prognostic test) and to identify the patient population responding to the developed combinatorial therapy (test for response) (WPs 3-5).
- To disseminate our findings, new combinatorial therapies and tests to the widest possible audience with the help of the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) and the European Liver Patients Association (ELPA) (WP6 and WP7).
Project Coordinator
Scientific Coordination
Members
The 14 institutions that collaborate in this multi-centre project are spread across Europe, and include physiology-, biotechnology-, and clinical experts as well as leading patient and liver research organisations.
Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB)
Brussels, Belgium
VIB KU Leuven Center for Cancer Biology
Leuven, Belgium
European Liver Patients Association (ELPA)
Brussels, Belgium
Institut National de la Sante et de la Recherche Medicale (INSERM)
Paris, France
Assistance Publique Hôpitaux de Paris (APHP)
Clichy, France
Université Sorbonne Paris Nord
Paris, France
Champalimaud Foundation
Lisbon, Portugal
Università degli Studi di Milano (UNIMI)
Milan, Italy
Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico
Milan, Italy
TUD Dresden University of Technology
Dresden, Germany
Stratipath
Stockholm, Sweden
Université Paris Cité
Paris, France
Finovatis by epsa
Lyon, France
European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL)
Geneva, Switzerland
This project is funded by the European Union under grant number 101096312. This website reflects only the authors’ view and the European Commission is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains.
MICROB-PREDICT - Microbiome-based individual biomarkers and predictors of health, cirrhosis, ACLF and treatment response
MICROB-PREDICT integrates microbiome data from over 10,000 subjects to develop personalized treatment strategies for decompensated cirrhosis and ACLF. The project identifies microbiome-based biomarkers and predictors while considering environmental, lifestyle, and socioeconomic factors. Results are translated into clinical tests and patient self-monitoring tools, enabling mechanism-based, targeted treatments that reduce patient burden.
Objectives
The key aim is to investigating the human microbiome to identify predictors and mechanisms associated with the development of decompensation and progression to acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) and death. This will result in better stratification of cirrhotic patients enabling microbiome-based intelligent and personalized allocation to treatment, and ultimately prevent ACLF and reduce mortality. Our identified microbiome-based markers will be validated in a clinical trial and translated into three new clinical tests useful for patients. The entire MICROB-PREDICT consortium unites the expertise from 22 different European partners, including hospitals, research foundations and institutes, patient and physician associations, and small-and-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), to accomplish the following objectives:
- To understand in depth and to better explain the interaction of human microbiome with host and medication, as well as their exact contribution to the development of decompensation and ACLF, and thereby to provide important foundations for the development of future prevention and treatment strategies modifying the microbiome and host co-factors.
- To validate the biomarkers and develop (a) novel microbiome-based nanobiosensors connected to smartphones and other easy-to-use tools for end-users of such markers and (b) treatment approaches modifying the microbiome and host co-factors.
- To identify major taxonomic and functional microbial traits and their interaction with the host, which are associated with the development of decompensated cirrhosis and progression to ACLF.
- To use these tools in the clinical trial of MICROB-PREDICT to personalize treatments, improve the treatment response to approaches modifying the microbiome and host co-factors, and reduce the mortality rate.
- To thereby decrease the individual, social and healthcare burden caused by decompensated cirrhosis and ACLF.
Project Coordinator
Scientific Coordination
Members
The 22 institutions that collaborate in this multi-centre project are spread across Europe, and include physiology-, biotechnology-, and clinical experts as well as leading patient and liver research organisations.
European Foundation for the Study of Chronic Liver Failure (EF CLIF)
Barcelona, Spain
Biobyte Solutions GmbH
Heidelberg, Germany
Commissariat à l’Energie Atomique et Aux Énergies Alternatives (CEA)
Gif sur Yvette, France
Concentris Research Management gmbh
Fürstenfeldbruck, Germany
European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL)
Geneva, Switzerland
European Liver Patients Association (ELPA)
Brussels, Belgium
European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL)
Heidelberg, Germany
Fundació Clínic per la Recerca Biomèdica (FCRB)
Barcelona, Spain
Institut Català de Nanociència i Nanotecnologia (ICN2)
Barcelona, Spain
Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)
Paris, France
Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KUL)
Leuven, Belgium
King’s College London (KCL)
London, United Kingdom
Leiden University Medical Center
Leiden, the Netherlands
Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry (MPG)
Martinsried, Germany
Odense Universitetshospital
Odense, Denmark
Universitat de Barcelona (UB)
Barcelona, Spain
Universitetet i Oslo (UiO)
Oslo, Norway
University College London (UCL)
London, United Kingdom
University of Copenhagen (UCPH)
Copenhagen, Denmark
University of Debrecen (UNIDEB)
Debrecen, Hungary
University of Münster (UM)
Münster, Germany
Vaiomer SAS
Labege, France
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 825694. This website reflects only the authors’ view and the European Commission is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains.
THRIVE - Tumor-host interactions in liver cancer of childhood and adults
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), accounting for 90% of adult liver cancers, has poor outcomes with half requiring systemic therapies. Immune-based treatments are standard but many patients don’t respond. Key challenges include understanding HCC risk factors, treatment failures, and predicting patient response. In children, hepatoblastoma requires improved predictive tools and novel therapies, as current surgery-chemotherapy regimens fail in 30% of cases.
Aims
The overall aim of the THRIVE project is to improve the outcome of both paediatric and adult liver cancer patients by understanding at-risk populations, tumour-host molecular interactions, developing biomarkers for current therapies and identify novel and affordable and societally-accepted treatments to overcome resistance.
Furthermore, we also aim to enhance the societal impact of our research, to promote FAIRness and Open Science, and to make health policy makers as well as healthcare professionals aware of the THRIVE results.
These THRIVE objectives will be tackled by the following specific aims:
- To understand the causative processes and key determinants of liver cancer development.
To decipher the molecular and cellular tumour–host interactions by:
- understanding the immune and stroma cell population interactions.
- exploring the intra-tumoral microbiome component.
- To develop reliable tools predicting response to immune therapies by:
- developing molecular biomarkers
- generating an AI-tool for guidance in decision making.
- To propose innovative, socially acceptable, and affordable new treatments.
- To integrate our discoveries with other EU resources and initiatives.
- To impact health policy makers and healthcare professionals.
Project Coordinator
Scientific Coordination
Members
THRIVE is an EU-funded initiative that brings together a strong and multidisciplinary team with 13 partners, from 8 countries, with complementary expertise in liver cancer research and in the use of cutting-edge technologies
University Of Newcastle Upon Tyne (UNEW)
Newcastle, United Kingdom
The Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals Nhs Foundation Trust (NUTH)
Newcastle, United Kingdom
Université Paris Cité (UPCITE)
Paris, France
Fundació Institut de Recerca contra la Leucèmia Josep Carreras (IJC – CERCA)
Barcelona, Spain
Weizmann Institute Of Science
Rehovot, Israel
Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC)
Leiden, the Netherlands
Institut d’Investigació en Ciències de la Salut Germans Trias i Pujol (IGTP-CERCA)
Barcelona, Spain
Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen (EKUT)
Tübingen, Germany
Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum Heidelberg (DKFZ)
Heidelberg, Germany
Innovation Acta Srl (INN-ACTA)
Rome, Italy
European Liver Patients Association (ELPA)
Brussels, Belgium
European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL)
Geneva, Switzerland
Funded by the European Union under Grant Agreement No. 101136622.
Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or European Research Executive Agency. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
LIVERAIM - A biomarker-based platform for early diagnosis of chronic liver disease to enable personalized therapy
Chronic liver diseases are a leading cause of premature deaths in Europe, often diagnosed late when asymptomatic. The LIVERAIM project develops a biomarker-based screening platform for early detection in asymptomatic individuals, enabling personalized therapeutic interventions. The consortium unites academic researchers, industry partners, patient associations, health economists, and AI specialists.
Project Coordinator
Scientific Coordination
Members
Academic Partners
Fundacio De Recerca Clinic Barcelona-Institut D Investigacions Biomediques August Pi I Sunyer / Hospital Clinic De Barcelona
Barcelona, Spain
FLASH – Center for Liver Research Odense University Hospital (OUH)
Odense, Denmark
University Medical Center Mainz
Mainz, Germany
University of Padova
Padova, Italy
The Foundation for Innovation in Cardiometabolism and Nutrition (IHU ICAN)
Paris, France
University of Zagreb School of Medicine (UZSM)
Zagreb, Croatia
University of Torino (UniTo)
Torino, Italy
The F.D. Roosevelt Teaching Hospital Banska Bystrica
Banska Bystrica, Slovakia
Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal)
Barcelona, Spain
University of Barcelona (UB)
Barcelona, Spain
Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB)
Barcelona, Spain
Chair of Internal Medicine II of Saarland University and University Medical Centre Saarland
Saarbrücken, Germany
Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Prevention Institute of the University of Zurich
Zurich, Switzerland
Newcastle University (UNEW)
Newcastle, United Kingdom
Newcastle University (UNEW)
Newcastle, United Kingdom
Non-Academic Partners
European Liver Patients Association (ELPA)
Brussels, Belgium
Innovation Acta
Rome, Italy
European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL)
Geneva, Switzerland
Industry Partners
Roche Diagnostics International Ag
Siemens Healthineers Ag
Nordic Bioscience A/S
Sysmex Europe SE
Echosens
Astrazeneca AB
Boehringer Ingelheim International Gmbh
Novo Nordisk A/S
Gilead Sciences Ireland UC
This project is supported by the Innovative Health Initiative Joint Undertaking (IHI JU) under grant agreement No 101132901. The JU receives support from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme and EFPIA, COCIR, MedTech Europe, Vaccines Europe and EuropaBio.
Funded by the European Union, the private members, and those contributing partners of the IHI JU. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the aforementioned parties. Neither of the aforementioned parties can be held responsible for them.
